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Introduction

A shrewd, second century Chinese writer, Sun Tzu observed in his book that it was important to understand the motivation of neighboring rulers before entering into an alliance. He also knew that it was equally important to understand the terrain of a country before leading an army through it (Giles, 1910).
Managers who must use power and politics to coordinate and support the work of organizational members and to meet organizational objectives can use this same principle to good effect. Power and politics are usually adopted when there is a conflict over the best structure to adopt, best use of available resources, and the like. The potential for conflict rises when various types of personalities work together in an organization, as they often do.
According to McShane and Von Glinow, power is defined as the capacity of a person, team or organization to move others (McShane & Von Glinow, 2006). A leader who effectively uses power can dramatically affect his or her......

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Approximate Word Count: 3147
Approximate Pages: 13 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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